Meisje met de parel

Every now and then it happens. The light splashes a leaf, turning what appeared to be green into half a rainbow. Or, a sudden breeze stirs a glass-like pond, making you shiver.

These moments freeze like ice. You can’t really move your eyes away even if you try.

Painters live for moments like these; all artists do. 

Often when in Europe on business trips, I would visit museums, which at that time were unlike their American counterparts; you could walk right up to a painting as if to touch it. On those visits, I came to admire the use of color and light; for some reason the black in Rembrandt paintings always struck me not as the absence of light but as the essence of beauty.

Of course it wasn’t always black, it may have been green. Splashed by the light it could turn into half a rainbow if you looked long enough.

This memory came back to me recently when I discovered the 2003 film version of the historical novel “Girl With a Pearl Earring.”  The book and the film re-imagine the character who might have inspired what was arguably the Dutch baroque painter Johannes Vermeer’s greatest painting.

As per the book, the film posits that Vermeer's model for the painting was his maid, though there is no evidence this was the case. The original actors cast for the film were Ralph Fiennes and Kate Hudson, but when they both left the project before production started (he for "Maid in Manhattan"), 17-year-old Scarlett Johansson and Colin Firth stepped into the roles.

Both Firth and Johansson are simply terrific. The unresolved sexual tension between these two yields the story (and in the fictional version the painting) and Johansson does resemble the girl in the actual piece to a remarkable degree. The film also contains scenes that present the Dutch environment of the 1600's as a replication of Vermeer's painting style -- a luminous realism celebrating how light animates our surroundings if we just care to look.

The girl's expression in the painting is the look of knowing she is desired and daring to look back. You don't have to be an artist to appreciate that.

(This essay originally appeared in 2021.)

HEADLINES:

• Israeli military fires two senior officers as report finds strike on aid workers was in ‘serious violation of commands’ (CNN)

• UN human rights body calls for halt to weapons shipments to Israel (NPR)

• Israel to Add Gaza Aid Routes as Biden Hinges Support on Civilian Protection (NYT)

• Israel braces for Tehran’s response after deadly Damascus strike (WP)

• This week's strike on Iran's embassy in Damascus shows Israel's growing reach in the Middle East, but six months into the Gaza war it is facing deepening isolation. (Reuters)

• Biden urges Egypt, Qatar leaders to press Hamas to come to agreement for Israeli hostages in Gaza (AP)

• US awaits Netanyahu’s response after Biden’s ultimatum (CNN)

• Netanyahu Faces Pressure at Home and Abroad, From Foes and Friends (NYT)

• Tensions flare between special counsel Jack Smith and Judge Aileen Cannon (Politico)

• Job growth zoomed in March as payrolls jumped by 303,000 and unemployment dropped to 3.8% (CNBC)

• US jobs boom raises doubts about rate cuts (BBC)

• Why the death of the honeybee was greatly exaggerated (Vox)

• Earthquake near New York City rattles much of the Northeast (CBS)

• Meta to broaden labeling of AI-made content (Axios)

• AI will shrink workforces within five years, say company execs (CNN)

• Goldendoodle Not Good With People Who Earn Less Than 6 Figures (The Onion)

 

The World Within Us

Early in 2020, just as the pandemic was starting to seep into our consciousness, my doctor prescribed a large daily dose of Vitamin D, saying it might boost my immune response to the coronavirus. As I was recovering from a series of illnesses at the time she reasoned that my immune system might be compromised.

A year later, whether that strategy was effective remained unverified in the medical literature; the studies were inconclusive. But I, for one, am pretty glad that she put me on that regimen.

There does seem to be a correlation with Vitamin D deficiency and many serious illnesses, possibly including Covid-19. It is estimated that 40 percent of the U.S. population doesn't get enough Vitamin D, which in natural form comes from sunlight.

But correlation is not causation, so more studies will be necessary before we'll know anything for sure. I'm only a sample of one, and last time I checked, I'm still here.

***

In an interview with The Guardian, the longtime editor of The New Yorker, David Remnick says "there is no vaccine for climate change." It's a catchy phrase, something I might have said myself on occasion, given the hundreds of thousands of words I churn out annually, but I'm happy to defer to him on this one.

He's right about that, of course, but in a more hopeful mood, there have been indications from time to time that the planet may have the innate ability to heal itself from some of the inputs our species has inflicted upon it.

In his wonderful book, "The World Without Us" (2007), Alan Weisman imagined what would happen should a sudden event, perhaps a virus, wipe out all of us humans but leave the rest of the planet's life forms intact.

As I recall, many of our domesticated pets wouldn't fare too well, but our house cats would be one exception. They'd do just fine. Vegetation would relatively quickly claim all of our cities and monuments. Traces of us would remain, of course, not the least of which would be the layer of topsoil we inevitably end up as anyway.

But it is more than a useful intellectual exercise to imagine the earth with no people on it if only to remind us that for now, we are here and we still may have a chance to save both our species and the planet.

And also to make our ephemeral lives matter in ways big or small.

(An earlier version of this essay appeared three years ago in April 2021.)

HEADLINES:

• UK arms sales to Israel should end, say legal experts (BBC)

• Biden rebukes Israel over aid workers, but his Gaza policy is unchanged (WP)

• Has Israel’s moment of reckoning finally arrived? (The Hill)

• US braces for retaliation after attack on Iran consulate — even as it says it wasn’t involved (AP)

• Why rural white Americans’ resentment is a threat to democracy (The Conversation)

• California is building fewer homes. The state could get even more expensive (LAT)

• The British Are Coming for Your White-Collar Job (WSJ)

• What I Saw Working at The National Enquirer During Donald Trump’s Rise (NYT)

• Trump's 'Christian Day of Visibility' tantrum is also a warning (MSNBC)

• Judge Merchan Abruptly Labels Trump Case ‘Federal Insurrection Matter’ (TNR)

• How Steve Bannon guided the MAGA movement’s rebound from Jan. 6 (WP) 

• Author Isabel Allende challenges anti-immigrant rhetoric, book bans and going 'backward' on women's rights (NBC)

• Ukraine’s Drainpipe Drones Open A New Era Of Long-Range Strikes (Forbes)

• The Great Democratic Success Story That Wasn’t (Atlantic)

• The vast majority of recent carbon dioxide emissions can be traced to a group of just 57 producers. (Reuters)

• How brown rats conquered North American cities (AP)

• Kansas newspaper publisher sues over police raid, claiming retaliation (WP)

• Big tech companies form new consortium to allay fears of AI job takeovers (TechCrunch)

• OpenAI’s GPT Store Is Triggering Copyright Complaints (Wired)

• Apple Explores Home Robotics as Potential ‘Next Big Thing’ After Car Fizzles (Bloomberg)

• Existential Researchers Teach Rat To Run Forever Through Exitless Maze (The Onion)

 

Remembering Kate Coleman

 One of the key personal attributes of a determined investigative reporter is courage. Almost inevitably, the reporter faces threats and intimidation in the course of doing stories that expose corruption and criminality. So this is not a profession for those who would back down in the face of danger.

Nobody who knew her would ever have accused Berkeley journalist Kate Coleman of backing down in the face of danger, or anything else for that matter.

On the contrary, Kate always stood her ground. She was as brave a reporter as I ever met in my long career, including 12 years as executive director of the Center for Investigative Reporting.

Kate died Tuesday at the age of 81 from complications of dementia.

Soon after Lowell Bergman, Dan Noyes and I founded CIR in 1977, one of the first projects we commissioned was an investigation of the Black Panther Party’s reign of terror on innocent citizens unconnected to the political mission of the party or the FBI’s illegal attempts to undermine it.

We found it difficult to find reporters courageous enough to take on the assignment until Kate and her co-author Paul Avery agreed to do it.

The result was a pivotal expose of the Panthers called “The Party’s Over,” published in New Times magazine on July 10, 1978. The article detailed many crimes committed by BPP co-founder Huey Newton and his associates, and mentioned the suspicious murder of party bookkeeper Betty Van Patter, which Kate would investigate further in future articles.

In response to the death threats following publication of their New Times article, Kate and Paul and the rest of us at CIR had to close our office and go into hiding for a period of time.

Kate’s expense report for the story was unusual in that it included the purchase of a handgun for self-defense and bars for the windows on her home.

But in the face of the threats to her life, Kate didn’t stop her investigation of the Panthers. Far from it, she continued to publish critical pieces about the party and the Van Patter case in various publications, including Heterodoxy in the 1990s.

Despite or perhaps because of this work, Kate remained committed all of her life to the cause of social justice and racial equality. She once told me, “The ugliest thing about our society is racism.” 

Besides her journalism, Kate was many, many other things, including a competitive swimmer and a member of the Dophin Club in San Francisco, an activist in the Free Speech Movement, a feminist who liked the company of men and a loyal friend.

She had a wicked sense of humor and every now and again, allowed people a glimpse of her softer sweet side.

Kate wrote many other articles on topics other than the Black Panthers for Newsweek, the Los Angeles Times, Salon, Mother Jones and other publications, as well as a book, “The Secret Wars of Judi Bari: A Car Bomb, the Fight for the Redwoods and the End of Earth First!” in 2005. 

A common feature of her work was the fearlessness with which she approached her subjects. She always had the courage to speak the truth as she found it, regardless of the consequences.

And that is how I will always remember her. That and her laugh.

Kate’s files are preserved at the Kate Coleman Archive at Stanford University.

HEADLINES:

• Chef Jose Andres says Israel targeted his aid workers 'systematically, car by car' (Reuters)

• Hill progressives unleash fresh fury at Netanyahu over WCK strike (The Hill)

• Hamas sticks to its position in ongoing talks (Al Jazeera)

• Taiwan's strongest earthquake in 25 years kills 9 people, 50 missing (Reuters)

• Zelensky Lowers Ukraine’s Draft Age, Risking Political Backlash (NYT)

• U.S. told Russia Crocus City Hall was possible target of attack (WP)

• Drones Strike Deep in Russia, as Ukraine Extends Its Weapons Range (NYT)

• After terror attack, Russia sees U.S. role and claims it is at war with NATO (WP)

• ‘I wanted to end my life’: ‘Bookseller of Kabul’ rebuilds destroyed business (Guardian)

• Biden and Trump victories in four state primaries offer new clues about enthusiasm for an upcoming rematch (AP)

• Trump Posts Clip Flaming Judge’s Daughter—Hours After Gag Order Ruling (Daily Beast)

• Trump called immigrants illegally in the US "animals" and "not human" in a speech in Michigan, resorting to the degrading rhetoric he has employed time and again on the campaign trail. (Reuters)

• The Jobs Numbers Aren’t Adding Up. Immigration Helps Explain Why. (WSJ)

• Ruling makes Florida new epicentre in US abortion battle (BBC)

• KQED's 'On Our Watch' Uncovers Corruption and Abuse at California’s New Folsom Prison (KQED Forum)

• John Sinclair, activist immortalized in a John Lennon song, dies at 82 (Politico)

• Cicadas, the noisy but rather tame insects that spend most of their lives underground, are poised to put on quite a show starting this month in a wide swath of the US. (Reuters)

• Anthropic researchers wear down AI ethics with repeated questions (TechCrunch)

• Generative AI to quantify uncertainty in weather forecasting (Google)

• AI security is a new battle between employers and workers, survey shows (Axios)

• Business Schools Are Going All In on AI (WSJ)

• Giant Burrito To Solve All Of Area Man’s Problems For 6 Precious Minutes (The Onion)

Too Good To Be True

If ever there were a cautionary tale for those who launch tech startups, it would be the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. 

Holmes was the entrepreneur who convinced everyone from venture capitalists to Larry Ellison to Walgreens to politically influential people like George Shultz and Henry Kissinger that her idea for a quick. one-drop, blood-testing technology was worth billions when the reality is it never even worked.

Holmes is now serving time in prison for fraud. Her story is available as a highly entertaining eight-part series on Hulu called “The Dropout.”

Elizabeth Meriwether created the series, which is based on a podcast of the same name as well as other material. Amanda Seyfried provides an inspired performance as Holmes, and there is a star-studded cast including William H. Macy, Sam Waterston, Michaela Watkins, Alan Ruck, Naveen Andrews, Josh Pais and many more.

Particularly notable are the performances of Camryn Mi-Young Kim and Dylan Minnette as two young, idealistic employees of Theranos who ultimately helped bring the company down.

But it is Seyfried who carries the series, capturing the enigmatic complexities of Holmes’s multi-faceted character, as part-naive visionary, part-lying hypester, part-seductress, part-manipulator who created a myth based on her own identity as a young woman challenging the tech-bro culture of Silicon Valley.

One of my favorite parts of the series is when Seyfried re-trains herself to sound more like a self-confident man than a valley girl. It’s a convincing rendition of an exercise I witnessed many times in Silicon Valley, where men and women alike tried to reinvent themselves and become something they weren’t in order to sell investors, customers and the press on their far-fetched, disruptive ideas.

I worked as an employee or a consultant for quite a few startups from 1995 onward. Although I never witnessed outright fraud like that engineered by Holmes, I did see plenty of the greed, betrayals and human distortions so accurately portrayed in this series.

I also saw a lot of hard work, sincerity, and commitment to try and make the world a better place.

But as we move into yet another tech-driven boom, this time powered by AI, it is worth considering the Theranos case study as a reminder that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.

HEADLINES:

• World Central Kitchen halts operations in Gaza after strike kills staff (BBC)

• This isn't the first time the U.S. and Israel have disagreed over Gaza (NPR)

• Ukraine struck one of Russia's biggest refineries with a drone 800 miles from the front lines in Ukraine and said it had inflicted significant damage on a military target. (Reuters)

• ‘No help here’: Florida abortion ruling leaves women with few options (WP)

• Biden and Xi speak for first time since November summit amid global tensions (CNN)

• Trump Completely Melts Down Over New Gag Order in Hush Money Trial (TNR)

• Trump keeps pushing the limits of the gag order in his hush-money case. It could land him in jail, legal experts say. (Business Insider)

• The Church of Trump: How He’s Infusing Christianity Into His Movement (NYT)

• Many more people have died after police used ‘less-lethal’ force than the public knows. (AP)

• Plants Really Do 'Scream'. We've Simply Never Heard It Until Now. (ScienceAlert)

• Retirement crisis looms as Americans struggle to save (CNN)

• Yahoo is acquiring Instagram co-founders’ AI-powered news startup Artifact (TechCrunch)

• The new science of death: ‘There’s something happening in the brain that makes no sense’ (Guardian)

• White House directs NASA to create time standard for the moon (Reuters)

• How One Tech Skeptic Decided A.I. Might Benefit the Middle Class (NYT)

• The AI Perils Buried in the Fine Print (Hollywood Reporter)

• OpenAI drops login requirements for ChatGPT’s free version (ArsTechnica)

• Is this AI? See if you can spot the technology in your everyday life. (WP)

• Sculpture Of Stereotypical Italian Chef Proof Of Pizzeria’s High Standard Of Excellence (The Onion)If ever there were a cautionary tale for those who launch tech startups, it would be the story of Elizabeth Holmes and Theranos. 

  Holmes was the entrepreneur who convinced everyone from venture capitalists to Larry Ellison to Walgreens to politically influential people like George Shultz and Henry Kissinger that her idea for a quick. one-drop, blood-testing technology was worth billions when the reality is it never even worked.

  Holmes is now serving time in prison for fraud. Her story is available as a highly entertaining eight-part series on Hulu called “The Dropout.”

  Elizabeth Meriwether created the series, which is based on a podcast of the same name as well as other material. Amanda Seyfried provides an inspired performance as Holmes, and there is a star-studded cast including William H. Macy, Sam Waterston, Michaela Watkins, Alan Ruck, Naveen Andrews, Josh Pais and many more.

  Particularly notable are the performances of Camryn Mi-Young Kim and Dylan Minnette as two young, idealistic employees of Theranos who ultimately helped bring the company down.

  But it is Seyfried who carries the series, capturing the enigmatic complexities of Holmes’s multi-faceted character, as part-naive visionary, part-lying hypester, part-seductress, part-manipulator who created a myth based on her own identity as a young woman challenging the tech-bro culture of Silicon Valley.

  One of my favorite parts of the series is when Seyfried re-trains herself to sound more like a self-confident man than a valley girl. It’s a convincing rendition of an exercise I witnessed many times in Silicon Valley, where men and women alike tried to reinvent themselves and become something they weren’t in order to sell investors, customers and the press on their far-fetched, disruptive ideas.

  I worked as an employee or a consultant for quite a few startups from 1995 onward. Although I never witnessed outright fraud like that engineered by Holmes, I did see plenty of the greed, betrayals and human distortions so accurately portrayed in this series.

  I also saw a lot of hard work, sincerity, and commitment to try and make the world a better place.

  But as we move into yet another tech-driven boom, this time powered by AI, it is worth considering the Theranos case study as a reminder that if something sounds too good to be true, it probably isn’t.

  HEADLINES:

  • World Central Kitchen halts operations in Gaza after strike kills staff (BBC)

  • This isn't the first time the U.S. and Israel have disagreed over Gaza (NPR)

  • Ukraine struck one of Russia's biggest refineries with a drone 800 miles from the front lines in Ukraine and said it had inflicted significant damage on a military target. (Reuters)

  • ‘No help here’: Florida abortion ruling leaves women with few options (WP)

  • Biden and Xi speak for first time since November summit amid global tensions (CNN)

  • Trump Completely Melts Down Over New Gag Order in Hush Money Trial (TNR)

  • Trump keeps pushing the limits of the gag order in his hush-money case. It could land him in jail, legal experts say. (Business Insider)

  • The Church of Trump: How He’s Infusing Christianity Into His Movement (NYT)

  • Many more people have died after police used ‘less-lethal’ force than the public knows. (AP)

  • Plants Really Do 'Scream'. We've Simply Never Heard It Until Now. (ScienceAlert)

  • Retirement crisis looms as Americans struggle to save (CNN)

  • Yahoo is acquiring Instagram co-founders’ AI-powered news startup Artifact (TechCrunch)

  • The new science of death: ‘There’s something happening in the brain that makes no sense’ (Guardian)

  • White House directs NASA to create time standard for the moon (Reuters)

  • How One Tech Skeptic Decided A.I. Might Benefit the Middle Class (NYT)

  • The AI Perils Buried in the Fine Print (Hollywood Reporter)

  • OpenAI drops login requirements for ChatGPT’s free version (ArsTechnica)

  • Is this AI? See if you can spot the technology in your everyday life. (WP)

  • Sculpture Of Stereotypical Italian Chef Proof Of Pizzeria’s High Standard Of Excellence (The Onion)

 

Winning

To his opponents, one of the most puzzling aspects of Donald Trump’s persistent appeal to his base of supporters is how they can continue to back a person with such blatant character flaws and low moral fiber.

Take his history with women as an example. He’s a convicted sexual predator who has admitted committing crimes of this nature against numerous victims. Yet Trump retains support among enough Republican women to lead in the polls against Joe Biden, a man with no such history of sexist abuse.

But what Democrats have to remember is that from a Republican perspective there is precedent for this inexplicable phenomenon. Bill Clinton was accused of multiple acts of sexual misconduct when he was president, including having an inappropriate relationship with an intern — and lying about it in a failed attempt at a coverup.

Yet Clinton survived these scandals and an impeachment attempt, and remains a popular figure among the Democratic base, which largely dismissed his actions as the imperfections of an otherwise good man.

As fas as I can tell, therefore, partisans on both sides care less about the morality of their leaders than whether they can beat the opposition. It’s the same in sports — fans largely tolerate complete jerks and cheaters as long as they help their favorite teams win.

Let’s face it. America is one big winner-takes-all sweepstakes where it is a given that you should try to win no matter at what cost — to your values, ideals or fundamental beliefs.

Sadly, most Americans seem just fine with that. 

But one more thing. I am not in any way saying that Clinton is the equivalent of Trump when it comes to the existential threat to our democracy. Clinton was an incredibly efficient president, despite his personal flaws, and has been a respectable statesman since leaving office.

Whereas Trump is the most dangerous person in the world.

HEADLINES:

• Gaza's al-Shifa hospital in ruins after two-week Israeli raid (BBC)

• Israel rocked by largest protests since war began as Netanyahu faces growing pressure (CNN)

• Israeli airstrike on Iran’s consulate in Syria killed two generals, Iranian officials say (AP)

• The Russians Sent A Platoon Of Grenade-Hurling Robotic Mini-Tanks Into Battle. The Ukrainians Blew Up The ‘Bots In The Usual Way: With Drones. (Forbes)

• Even before the revolution, America was a nation of conspiracy theorists (AP)

• How Republicans texted and emailed their way into a money problem (WP)

• How Xi Jinping plans to overtake America (Economist)

• Taliban ban on girls’ education defies both worldly and religious logic (Al Jazeera)

• Can We Engineer Our Way Out of the Climate Crisis? (NYT)

• Cancer signs could be spotted years before symptoms, says new research institute (Guardian)

• Election disinformation takes a big leap with AI being used to deceive worldwide (AP)

• Intense April storm to threaten much of U.S. with severe weather (Axios)

• Ready or not, self-driving semi-trucks are coming to America’s highways (WP)

• The internet may not be big enough for the LLMs. (Verge)

• We’re Focusing on the Wrong Kind of AI Apocalypse (Time)

• Google DeepMind unveils ‘superhuman’ AI system that excels in fact-checking, saving costs and improving accuracy (VentureBeat)

• Man Coming To Terms With Fact That Shower Not Getting Any Hotter (The Onion)

Not Yet Silent

An oriole, a blackbird and a red fox visited in the afternoon. A hawk soared far overhead. I watched a lizard dart in and out of the grasses, which due to the rains are rich and thick this spring. 

A seasonal creek is rushing nearby from up higher on the mountain, making music as it passes.

Several deer munch their way into view at dusk. After the sun goes down, the bullfrogs begin their throaty chants.

Life in the country suits me. I grew up idealizing the countryside; that’s a main reason I concentrated on environmental subjects as a journalist.

When I read Silent Spring as a teenager, I couldn’t bear the thought that our species has put all of this at risk.

As an old man, I still can’t.

HEADLINES:

• The Trump camp and the White House clash over Biden's recognition of 'Transgender Day of Visibility' (AP)

• 10 Senate Races to Watch in 2024 (NYT)

• Obamacare once cost Democrats elections. Now Biden’s hoping to win on it. (WP)

• Fidelity cuts value of X stake, implying 73% decline in former Twitter since Elon Musk’s takeover (Fortune)

• Vegetables are losing their nutrients. Can the decline be reversed? (Guardian)

• Gmail revolutionized email 20 years ago (NBC)

• Region braces for economic hit amid fears port shuttered for months (WP)

• U.S. and Israel’s ‘Unprecedented’ Intelligence Sharing Draws Criticism (WSJ)

• No exit in Gaza — left with no other options, residents should have a right to flee (The Hill)

• Russia’s Putin signs decree on spring military conscription (CNBC)

• Free lunches, brain breaks and happy teachers: why Estonia has the best schools in Europe (Guardian)

• Autism Can Boost Cognitive Performance, And We May Finally Know Why (ScienceAlert)

• A new Old West is rising in the California mountains (SFGate)

• OpenAI Can Re-Create Human Voices—but Won’t Release the Tech Yet (Wired)

• Latest AI News: $100 billion Supercomputers, AI FOMO And Angry Robots (Forbes)

• Toddler Figures It About Time To Shove Whole Plastic Easter Egg Into Mouth (The Onion)

 

Questions

One of my numerous short-term jobs in the chaotic second half of my career was editor of an online prediction site, where users submitted their best guesses of what stock prices, sports scores or political polls would indicate at some fixed date in the future, usually days or weeks away.

I curated the submitted questions, wrote others, and reported the results. It was a fascinating experience in coordinating the so-called "wisdom of the crowds," backed by venture capitalists on Sand Hill Road.

Among our partners were media companies, including the New York Times and the Washington Post. They saw the service as a novel way to gauge reader interest in various topics. 

I didn't think much about it at the time, but what we were doing was part of a larger attempt by media outlets to shape their content to appeal to more people -- a kind of popularity contest for what used to be decided independently of any user feedback.

Since my earliest days as an online editor/producer, I'd used a similar technique -- opinion polls -- to survey our users on provocative questions. At The Netizen/HotWired in 1996, we staged regular polls about the presidential candidates that election cycle, for example.

But by far our most popular poll was when we asked "Do you prefer a Mac or a PC?"

The results were trending PC early on until a prominent Mac enthusiast got involved, which dramatically altered the results. This was an early opportunity for me to witness the unprecedented power of online influencers. 

As part of his effort to get out the vote, the Mac enthusiast attacked me as the editor of The Netizen, assuming for some reason that I was a PC-sympathizer, without verifying whether his assumption was true.

(In fact I strongly preferred Macs -- the only computers I had ever owned were Macs.)

But I was and am a journalist, so our poll presented the question in a neutral manner, since we didn’t want to bias the results. 

Meanwhile, the anonymity of the online environment made it easy to attack me or anyone else via email, or on bulletin boards and the like, without giving them a chance to respond. That of course was the opposite of the journalistic process I was accustomed to.

I didn't take the Mac attack personally -- it was the first of many -- because it was clear to me that in the new age when everyone had an equal voice, this was how the game would be played. The real problem, of course, was how this spread of social media would affect the world of traditional journalism, which I believed was fundamentally about the search for truth. 

It’s been my mission from those days until now to try and counteract the excesses of social media by working to promote and protect traditional journalism and our methodology. To me that's a vital step if we are to preserve the democratic experiment that has been going on in this country for 250 years.

Can anyone make a discernible difference in something this enormous? IDK, but I'll probably die trying.

(I published an earlier version of this essay exactly three years ago on March 31, 2021.)

HEADLINES:

• Trump rebuked for sharing video showing Biden hog-tied on pickup truck (Guardian)

• The internet was supposed to make humanity smarter. It’s failing. (WP)

• The slow death of Twitter is measured in disasters like the Baltimore bridge collapse (Vox)

• Why School Absences Have ‘Exploded’ Almost Everywhere (NYT)

• Media expert: 'You can't ignore half the country away' (CNN)

• Half of senior staffers in Congress are so fed up that they may quit (WP)

• Even Neil Gorsuch Is Ready to Call Shenanigans on Rogue Lower-Court Trump Judges (Slate)

• Delusions at the United Nations (Al Jazeera)

• American guns fuel Haiti crisis (The Hill)

• It’s Shohei Ohtani Season in L.A. (New Yorker)

• Sorry, Hollywood, AI is Coming For You (DailyWire)

• AI-operated Robots Write Letters for Humans (VoA)

• Elite investor Jeffrey Gundlach compares the AI boom in stocks to the dot-com bubble — and warns of economic pain (Business Insider)

• A museum is using AI to let visitors chat with World War II survivors (WP)

• Area Man Locked In Protracted Battle With Sweatshirt Neckhole (The Onion)